When The Sun Sets (Moon X Gladion)

Uncomfortable

When Moon awoke the next morning, she was in Green's arms. His spiky, straw-blond hair masked his lidded eyes as he snored softly, the corner of his lips upturned as if he was dreaming. Moon's stomach dropped. She was uncomfortable, yes, but she was even more uneasy by how close Green's face was to hers; everytime he exhaled, she felt it on full blast. The boy was her one of her best friends, making him her honorary brother! Of course this would unnerve her.

Shifting away from Green and escaping the "safety" of his arms, Moon assessed the situation. How'd this happen? Green was clutching Sun's map between his fingers. Oh... that's right, she realized. We must've fallen asleep while studying the map. Drawing out a hot breath, she praised Arceus that the event was only a fluke.

"Thank goodness," Hau breathed behind her. "That was getting uncomfortable for all of us."

Whipping around, Moon immediately froze. Hau and Gladion had been watching her the entire time. The savory aroma of lemon rice soup filled the air and she realized that Hau was in the midst of making breakfast. He smiled sympathetically, recognizing the dazed, mortified look in Moon's grey eyes.

Gladion, however, adverted his gaze from the scene. His green, glazed-over eyes drifted towards the dull fire between them. Moon's ears reddened as she recognized the crushed expression on his face and wondered whether or not it had anything to do with her and Green.

Pfft, that can't be it, she immediately told herself. Were there sparks between her and Gladion? Yes, but that didn't necessarily mean that Gladion felt the same. That's what she kept telling herself, at least.

Still, Moon felt the immense urge to negate whatever had happened with an awkward and out-of-place apology. "I-I'm sorry. The map..." She struggled with the explanation, watching Gladion's expressions intently as she carried on. "I-I never meant to fall asle-"

"It's fine." Gladion's voice was flat and devoid of emotion as he said it, the tone so empty and frigid that Moon's blood immediately ran cold upon hearing it. She looked to Hau and Hau pursed his lips, rubbing the back of his neck like he always did when he was anxious.

But while Moon and Gladion each existed in a state of tortured awkwardness, Hau was racking his brain, devising a plan to fix this. Lillie's melodic voice ran through his mind again, repeating the words she had told him days beforehand:

"We both know that Moon and Gladion like each other. We can't force them together, obviously, but we can point them in the right direction. Try getting them alone."

Okay, that had worked last night, but Hau doubted it would at this precise moment. Groaning silently, he glanced at Gladion. Geez, why did Moon like this guy? The edgy boy who always had a death glare in his unforgiving eyes? The boy who invited himself on this trip?

Calm down, bud. Gladion isn't a bad dude. Hau took a deep breath as he chided himself for growing angry. Despite contrary belief and the fact that the two of them didn't ways mix well, he enjoyed Gladion's company. What Moon saw in Gladion, however, Hau was far from sure. Though, he supposed it had something to do with the way Gladion held her at Haunter Hollow. Perhaps there's something between them that I've just never noticed before, Hau told himself. Yeah, that had to be it. Moon had always like Gladion, even when she declined to show it. And for that reason, Hau knew he had to work harder to get his two friends together, no matter the stakes.

First task: Get them away from Maiden's Peak.

"Hey." Hau began pouring his lemon rice concoction into bowls, distributing the dishes amongst them. "After Green wakes up, do you guys wanna get out of here?"

"Yeah," Moon spoke in a small voice. "We should head to Fuchsia City... Where's Lucario?"

Hau motioned towards the cliffs behind them. In the distance, floating above the water like an astronaut in space, Moon spotted the blue Pokémon. "He's been there all morning. Meditating, I think," Hau told her.

Grabbing an extra bowl, Moon lifted herself from the ground and exited the scene as casually as she could. She did her best to ignore Gladion as she passed. The boy in question attempted the same feat, though he couldn't help but shift his head towards her as she left his view.

Still, she kept going, continuing her path towards the water and nearing her faithful Pokémon. Curiously, she wondered why he was meditating.

Lucario sensed his trainer's aura as she approached. Turning to look at her, he spotted the bowl of soup in her hands and made his decent towards the ground. She handed it to him and he smiled, remembering the day they first met. Then, finding a bench near the lighthouse, the two sat down and consumed their breakfast together.

As the moments dragged by, Moon realized why Lucario had yet to return to his pokéball since Lavender Town. With the power to sense auras, it was entirely possible that the creature had sensed her perpetual terror. No wonder he had been on guard the past few days! Therefore, after a few minutes of silence, she made her decision. There was so much on her mind: the prophecy, Gladion... She knew it was time to finally speak up.

"Luc, I need to tell you something."

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Oof, I hope you don't hate me over that beginning but I gotta start the drama somehow.